For The End Of Time
by iloveedward416
Summary: This is a Quil and Claire story! It's about when Claire's fifteen. Hope you enjoy it! Please, no flames! :D
1. Quil

Quil

Quil

"Claire! Claire, wake up!" I woke up, startled, when Quil called my name. He shook me.

I slapped him, but instead of hurting him, it hurt me. "Stop that! Ow!"

"Claire, you fell asleep during the movie."

"So? That doesn't mean you have to wake me up!"

"But it's morning."

"Oh, really? What time is it?" I asked sarcastically.

"It's six a.m."

"Then it's time for me to sleep! It's summer." I turned over and shut my eyes.

I felt him shake me again. "Claire,"

I love Quil – he's always been there for me, and I've known him since I was two, but I don't remember when I was that age – but he can get really annoying sometimes, like when he wakes me up at ungodly hours like five or six o'clock in the summer, when people are supposed to be sleeping. I'm okay with waking up at six when I have to go to school, but in the summer? No way!

I turned back over to face him. "Quil. Seriously. Stop."

"But Claire, don't you want to know what we're doing today?" he asked me with enthusiasm. How could he be so awake at these hours of the day?

"No." I snapped. "I want to sleep."

"Claire,"

"You're really whiney for a guy in his twenties."

I didn't really know how old Quil was; he just told me he was twenty-ish.

"Yeah, well, I'm bored. You sleep too much."

"No, you just sleep too less."

"We're going to the beach today. Don't you want to go?"

"Sure." I saw his face lighten up. "Later." I added, smiling.

"Fine," I could tell by his tone that he was using reverse psychology. He stood up. "Emily's gonna be there, but I guess you don't want to. I'll just have to tell her you don't want to see her. But she'd be so-"

I cut him off. "I'm getting up." I said. "But she's not gonna be there yet."

"She's coming at seven, but we're going now."

"Okay. Let me get changed." I rummaged through my dresser drawer for my swim suit when I realized he was still there. "Are you gonna get out so I can change?" He could be so strange sometimes. I'm fifteen, and I still couldn't figure him out.

"We're the only ones here, Quil." I said when we got to the beach.

"No we're not," he argued. "There are people jogging over there," He set a towel down for himself and one down for me.

"Quil, don't you ever get sick of hanging around with me?" I asked him as I sat down on the towel. I was pretty sure I already knew the answer, though.

"No, Claire, you're my best friend," he sat down too.

"But what about Sam, Jacob, Jared, Embry, Seth, Leah, and all those other people you hang out with so much?"

"I can still hang out with them. Oh, and by the way, they're all coming today."

"How's Jacob? Is he still depressed about Bella after all these years?"

"Yeah."

"How is Bella?" I never got to meet Bella Swan (who is really a Cullen since her and Edward got married), or Edward Cullen, or the Cullen family, but Jacob often talked about her. He said how much he missed her.

"She still calls Jacob, even though he's got Jenny. He never stopped loving her. But she says she's okay. I wish you would've gotten a chance to meet her. She's really nice."

"Why don't you all like the Cullens?"

"Um, it's… complicated."

I felt like there was something he wasn't telling me.

"Why is it complicated?"

"It just is."

"But what happened?"

"I don't know."

Yes, there was something he wasn't telling me.

"Quil, I can tell you're not going to tell me. It's a secret, isn't it?"

"No."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

He sighed. "'Cause it's a secret." He picked up a pebble and threw it. "I want to tell you, but I can't. Don't press me for any more information, 'cause you're not going to get it. Well, maybe you will, someday."

"But-" I was just about to ask him again, when Sam, Emily, Jacob, Jenny, Jared, Kim (his girlfriend), Seth, and Leah showed up.

"Hey, Claire," Emily greeted me. I loved my aunt. She was always so nice.

I got up to hug her.

I said hi to everyone. Now the party would start.

We all jumped into the water, and it started raining, as usual, in La Push, Washington.

"So, Emily, what are you planning to do tomorrow?" I asked her. We had just got done with a swimming race; I had won.

"Well, Sam's got to go out, so I'll mostly be alone." She replied, breathless, like me.

"Do you want to hang out? I guess Quil will be gone,"

"Sure, I'd like to hang out, but Quil won't be gone. Sam's going to visit his cousin in Seattle."

"Oh."

"You sound disappointed. Why? What's wrong with Quil?"

"Nothing. It's just… he kind of gets annoying. He wakes me up when I don't want to wake up, and then he whines and I get up. And then, when I talk about boys, he gets all frustrated and tells me I'm too young for that, but I'm not. I'm fifteen."

"He means no harm, Claire. He loves you." She looked at me, and added, "In a family way" so I wouldn't think of it like that. "He's always been there for you, Claire. He's your best friend. Don't take that for granted." I could tell she had a secret, too, but I didn't press her for it.

I thought about that. "I know, Em. He _is _my best friend."

We swam back to the shore.


	2. Mixed Feelings

Mixed Feelings

Mixed Feelings

"Did you have fun?" Quil asked me when we were driving back to my house.

"Yeah, I did. Thanks for taking me, Quil." I really did mean it. What Emily said really made me understand. I still couldn't believe we spent the whole day there; the sun was setting now, and it was eight thirty at night.

He smiled. "You're welcome." He patted my hand, and the moment it touched mine, every nerve in my body felt like a live wire.

I looked at his face. Maybe I did like him a little more than a friend. He was kind of cute. But no. I couldn't think of Quil that way. He was so much older than me; he had to be about twenty-five. And he was my best friend.

No, I couldn't like him. But his eyes… No! I couldn't let myself think about that.

He pulled up in my driveway, and we went into the house.

Mom still wasn't home yet, and neither was Dad. They must've gotten stuck at the office. My parents were big-time lawyers, and they would sometimes work late. That's why we had Quil. They already knew him from Emily, and they soon dubbed him me and my sister, Natalie, our babysitter. He wasn't our babysitter anymore, but we still hung out with him.

Natalie was a senior to be, and I was a sophomore to be. Natalie liked Quil, but Quil didn't like her back. I thought it was funny the way she spent to much wasted time flirting with Quil.

"What do you want to do?" I asked Quil.

"I dunno," I replied. "Watch a movie, I guess. Even though we do that every night."

"Okay." I picked out a movie and we turned it on.

I sat by him on the couch, and he put his arm around me. It was awkward. I soon felt myself starting to fall asleep during the second movie. I leaned against Quil, and I could feel him hugging me to his chest. I couldn't tell if I was dreaming or not.

In the morning, when I woke up, I was cuddled up to Quil and his arm was holding me close. He was still sleeping. I looked at the clock on the wall. Ten o'clock! I couldn't believe he wasn't up yet.

I needed to wake him up, but I didn't want to. I was perfectly content. I liked it.

But I couldn't think of Quil that way; he was so much older than me!

"Quil," I said to him, but I didn't get up, I stayed where I was.

He groaned. "Claire?" he asked. He opened his eyes and was shocked. "Why are you cuddled up to me? And why am I holding you up against my body? Not that I mind."

Awkward.

"You hugged me close while you were sleeping, I guess. And I guess I cuddled up to you when I was sleeping. I'm sorry." I got up.

"No, it's okay." I could tell he liked it.

I liked it, too.

I changed the subject. "So, what are we gonna do today?"

"Oh, so now you're the wake up call _and _the recreational director?" he chuckled.

I laughed, too.

"What do you want to do?" he asked.

"Well, Emily said yesterday at the beach that Sam was going to Seattle to visit his cousin for the day, so she'll be lonely. Let's go over there, even though much of our day is gone."

"Okay." He agreed, and we went out to his car.

"Hi, Emily," I said to her when she answered the door.

"Hi, Claire. Hi, Quil. Come in." she said, obviously pleased by the company.

We walked in the door and sat down at the kitchen table.

"So, how are you?" Emily asked us.

"We're good." Quil and I said together.

"I had fun at the beach yesterday," I said.

"It was fun." Emily replied.

"Why didn't you go with Sam today?" Quil asked.

"I thought it would be better if Sam spent some alone time with his cousin. He looks up to Sam."

"How old is he?" I asked. Quil shot me the you're-too-young-for-boys look.

I ignored him.

"He's fifteen. His name is David."

"You know, Emily, I think Claire is too young for boys at this age." Quil said with a smirk on his face.

I glared at him.

"No, I think Claire's the right age for boys." Emily replied, giving me the satisfaction.

I grinned; Quil growled.

"I think she's too young." He muttered.

"What do you want to do?" Emily asked us.

"I want to go to the mall." I replied. "I have my wallet with me,"

"Okay." Quil didn't seem thrilled about the mall.

"Ooh, that's cute," I pointed to a strapless blouse.

"Ew. No way will I let you buy that." Quil took my arm and pulled me away from the window of the store.

I planted my feet on the floor. "You're not my mom or my dad, Quil. I'll buy it if I want to."

"So? I'm your best friend, and I won't let you buy that."

I broke free and walked into the store.

I picked the shirt out in blue and went to the desk to buy it.

I came out of the store, triumphant.

I grinned at him. "Apparently you will let me buy it."

"Claire. I'm talking to your mother about you."

"You wouldn't. She's too busy to care, anyway."

"Okay, I won't. But I won't let you buy anything else like… that."

"Oh, come on. It looks just like a shirt with short sleeves, but without the sleeves."

"I'm not backing out this time, Claire."

**End Note: Sorry I haven't submitted any chapters for a while. I've had company at my house, so I haven't been able to get on. You're lucky. I've decided to give you all the chapters I've finished so far! :D Please review!**


	3. Vampire

Vampire

Vampire

"I had fun at the mall." I said on the car ride back to my house. We had just dropped Emily off at home, and Sam was on his way home.

"I didn't." Quil was still grumpy. I had gotten three more shirts he didn't approve of.

"Oh, stop, Quil. It's okay, really. Those shirts were fine." I looked out the window. I knew he was angry, but he wasn't angry at me.

"No, it's not okay."

"You know what? I'm sick of you getting all over protective. I can take care of myself."

I saw him cringe at my words, and I immediately felt guilty.

"Quil, I didn't mean that-"

He cut me off. "You're right." He said. "If you don't want me around, I'll go."

"No, Quil! Don't! You're my best friend. I need you. I didn't mean what I said. Really."

He pulled in my driveway and we walked in the house.

We watched a movie – again. He put his arm around me again, and this time it didn't feel awkward.

_Maybe you do like him, _I thought. _You do like him. Accept it. _

I leaned on him.

Natalie walked in.

"What the…?" her voice trailed off. She was shocked.

I sat up straight again and moved myself away from him.

"Claire?" she was still stunned. "Can I talk to you…?"

She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me into the kitchen.

"Ow!" I cried. "Let go of my wrist! That hurts!"

"You know I like Quil. And then you do this?! How could you?! You're so much younger than he is! I'd be much better suited for him! I'm closer to his age!"

I chuckled; I knew Quil could hear her, and I heard him chuckling, too.

"What is so funny?"

I just walked out of the room, ignoring her, and still laughing.

"Claire!"

I waved my hand at her.

She followed me in, and she sat next to Quil and cuddled up with him. He looked at me, disgusted.

"Get off me, Natalie." He pushed her off.

She stomped to her room.

I sat down and started to enjoy the movie. It was a sappy love story, called _The Lake House_, but it was the only good movie we had left.

I listened to the words in the movie.

_Don't worry, Kate, _

_we'll find some way to be together in time._

I felt myself doze off.

"Claire." Quil's voice broke through my fog. "Claire, wake up."

"What?" I groaned.

"We're going to Emily's today. Everyone's gonna be there. There's a barbecue."

I got up. "Okay."

"Hi, Emily," I said when we got there.

"Hi, Claire. Hi, Quil. Do you want some barbecue?" Emily was such a good hostess.

"Sure." I went to the food table and I got some barbecue, corn, potato salad, and some soda. I sat down at the table in between Emily and Jenny.

"Hey, Jenny," I said. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I had fun at the beach. We should go again." Jenny replied.

I saw Jacob get up; he had a worried look on his face.

He must be worrying about Bella again, I thought.

I decided that I should talk to him, so I excused myself and lied about having to go to the bathroom.

I walked through the hallway, trying to find out where Jacob went.

I heard his voice out of the guest room and almost went in, but realized he was on the phone. I knew it was wrong, but I listened anyway.

"Bella, I miss you bad. Why did you let him change you into a vampire? I'm so much better for you than Edward. But it's too late now." His voice was sharp.

Bella? A… _vampire_? What? I didn't think vampires were real. Maybe I heard wrong.

"Jacob?" I went into the room.

He stared at me in disbelief. "Claire?"

"Bella's a… _vampire_?"

**End Note: I am being nice, aren't I? I think I deserve to get more reviews! :D**


	4. Werewolf

Werewolf

Werewolf

"Answer me, Jacob." I said. "Is Bella a vampire?"

He blinked, then gulped. "Y-yes."

"_What_?! I didn't think vampires were real."

"They are."

"Well, what are you, then? A werewolf?" I joked.

"Uh, no!" he replied defensively. I knew he wasn't telling me something.

I changed the subject back to the vampires. "Is that why Quil doesn't like the Cullens?"

"Yes."

"What did they do?"

"I can't tell you."

"Whatever." I walked away.

"Quil." I said on the car ride home. "Bella's a vampire?"

He looked at me like I was crazy. "How'd you find that out?"

"I heard Jacob say it and then he explained it."

"Um, did he tell you anything else?"

"No. Why? Was there something else I wasn't supposed to know?"

He sighed. I could tell he was thinking about telling me his secret.

He turned on the path that led into the woods.

"Why are we going here? It's dark outside, and my house is that way."

"There's something I need to tell you, but I have to tell you here."

He stopped the car and we both got out.

"Quil? What's this about?"

He didn't answer.

"Quil! Tell me!"

He stood where he was, and his body started shaking all over…

"Quil?"

I saw him transform into a huge wolf.

"What the…?"

He barked.

I started running away.

He barked again and ran after me.

I was surprised; he caught up with me in one stride. He ran ahead of me and stopped, blocking my path.

He changed back into a human.

"Claire, I'm not supposed to tell you this. Jacob, Sam, Seth, Leah, Embry, Collin, and Brady are werewolves, too." He said.

"But… that's why Jacob acted so defensive when I joked him."

"What?"

"I asked him if Bella was a vampire and he said yes. Then I said, 'What are you, a werewolf?' and he acted all defensive."

"Oh. I guess I need to tell you why we hate the vampires, then."

"Okay." I sat down on a log.

He told me the whole story.

"Oh. Okay." I realized there was something I needed to say. "I - I need to… tell you something, Quil. I… love y-you."

"Maybe I should leave." He suggested.

"Maybe," I was beginning to think that I didn't like him being a werewolf.

He saw the expression on my face. "For good."

I looked up at him, and then looked down. Maybe it would be good for the both of us. "Maybe."

He looked disgusted. "Claire, why do you stand there like an idiot and just say maybe?! You don't say yes or no or anything! Do you want me to leave?"

The tears started coming to my eyes.

"Well?! Tell me the truth, Claire. Do you want me to leave, or not?!"

I still couldn't answer.

"Claire!"

"Y-yes." I knew it would be better for the both of us, even if I loved him.

He was crying, too, and he turned and walked away.

I heard his car a few moments later. I heard the squeal of tires as he whirled the car around, the vroom-vroom when he drove off.

I knew I needed to go home, but I needed to be alone and cry. I had to get over the fact that I would never see Quil again.

I ran home.

"What's your problem?" Natalie asked me when I burst through the door.

"Nothing you would care about, Natalie. Stay out of my business." I snapped, and kept walking to my room. I slammed my door.

I heard a knock. "Go away."

Natalie opened the door and sat on my bed. "It's about Quil, isn't it?"

"Why should I tell you?" I turned away from her.

"Because I'm your sister," she sighed. "And I care. I really do. I won't make fun of you or use this to my advantage. I promise you, Claire."

I turned to face her. "I… I told him I loved him, and he… asked me if I wanted him to leave… for good, and I said yes. But how could I be so stupid? I should've never told him I loved him, and even if I did, I should've told him to stay."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Natalie. I think I can deal with it."


	5. Apologize

Apologize

Apologize

_Oh, come on, Claire. You're being a baby. You have other friends. _I thought.

I dialed my best friend's number.

It rang two times, and Kelsey answered.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, Kelsey. Is there anything you want to do today?" I asked her.

"You sound sad, Claire. What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you if you come with me."

"Okay. You wanna go to the beach?"

"Yeah." I hung up.

I went into my room to change, and then I walked to the beach. I met Kelsey there.

"Hey." She said. "So, will you tell me?"

"Yeah. I… told Quil I loved him, because I really do. Then he asked me if I wanted him to leave for good, and I… said… yes." We walked along the shore.

"You did? I can't believe-"

I cut her off.

"Look. It's Quil. Over there." I pointed to him. He looked depressed; he threw a rock and it almost hit me. I ignored him.

"If you feel so bad, go talk to him." Kelsey suggested. "I'll go with you."

I took a deep breath. "Okay."

We walked over to where he was.

"Quil?" I asked.

"What?" He didn't look up.

"I'm so sor-"

He cut me off. "Save it, Claire. Don't say that 'cause you feel bad for me. Do what you want."

"But what I want is for us to be friends again."

"I don't think so."

I woke up. That was all a dream?

"Claire." I heard Natalie call my name.

"What?" I groaned.

"You fell asleep. Do you want me to talk to Quil for you?" she asked.

"No."

She sighed. "You're only hurting yourself," She walked out of the room.

Maybe I could call Kelsey – for real this time – and talk to her, maybe go to the beach. If Quil wasn't there, of course.

I thought for a moment if I was going to call. I picked up the phone on the bedside table and dialed Kelsey's number.

"Hello?" she answered on the third ring.

"Hey, Kelsey, it's Claire." I replied.

"Hey Claire. Are you sick? You don't sound so good."

"No. It's just -" I told her the story. "Do you want to go to the beach?" I added.

"Hey, it's okay. It'll be okay. You two will be friends again. And sure, I'll go to the beach with you."

"Thanks. But if he's there, we've gotta leave."

"I think you should talk to him if he's there."

"No way."

"Come on, Claire. Don't be a baby. You're in love with him."

"Yeah, so?"

"Yeah, so I think you really do care. Why are you acting like you don't? You and I both know you do."

"Kelsey, I'll talk to you at the beach." I hung up. I didn't want to hear her lecture me.

I dug my toes into the sand as I waited for Kelsey. I looked over at Quil for the thousandth time. I decided I wanted to talk to him, but only if Kelsey was with me. But it didn't seem likely that she would come anytime soon. I had been waiting for twenty minutes.

I looked back at the ground when he stared into my eyes.

His face was hard; not showing any emotion. It cut deep into me.

I could feel his eyes on me, burning a hole in my back.

"Hey,"

I jumped when I heard a voice behind me.

I looked up at the person, shielding my eyes with my hand. It was actually sunny today.

"Kelsey?" I asked.

She sat down beside me. "He's looking at you." She said.

I looked at the ground again. "I know."

"He doesn't look happy, either."

"I think I know _that_." I snapped.

"Maybe you should go talk to him."

"I don't think I can now."

"Just go. I'll be right there with you, and if you can't speak, I'll talk for you."

I groaned as I got up.

We walked over to him.

I froze halfway to him. I was paralyzed.

"Come on." Kelsey tried to pull me, but I was glued to the ground.

He stared at me, confused. My eyes locked with his.

I took a step forward. Another and another…

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out when I got to him.

"Quil." I choked. I couldn't breathe.

Kelsey looked at me.

"I – I'm… sorry." I managed to say.

He just stared. I could tell he was waiting for me to say more.

"I never meant – what I said."

"All of it? Including the part about you being in love with me?" he finally spoke up.

"Y-yes." I lied.

"You're lying." He could see right through me.

"About everything – except that I love you. I really do."

"Do you?"

"Yes, Quil. I love you."

He smiled. "I'm too old for you."

My face fell.

"But," he added. "I have a story to tell you that will change all that. Kelsey, please excuse us."


	6. Imprint

Imprint

Imprint

He opened the car door for me, and we walked hand in hand in the forest. He sat me down on a log and he sat beside me. I cuddled into his chest. I was beginning to think that I was going to like this story.

He told me the imprinting story, about how he couldn't age, and about how he'd imprinted on me. I was beaming at the end of the story.

"Really? All that's true? You're mine? I'm yours?" I asked.

"Yes. We can be together forever." He smiled, and it became suddenly silent. His face got closer, and I could feel his breath on my face…

His lips met mine, and his fingers wound through my hair.

His lips were warm, and soft, and gentle on mine.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn't remember anything. Not even how to breathe.

He let me go, and I was disappointed when he did. I finally could breathe.

"Why did you let me go?" I demanded.

He chuckled. "I love you, Claire."

That felt so good to hear.

He led me to his car, and we drove back to my house.

As we walked in the front door, I heard my sister talking on the phone.

I froze. "I'll talk to her." I said to Quil.

"I'll go." He said, and kissed me quickly.

I stopped at the doorway. "Natalie? Can I talk to you?"

"Okay. See you tomorrow." I smiled as he went out the door.

I went into Natalie's room, and she was on the phone.

I stopped at the doorway. "Natalie? Can I talk to you?" I went into Natalie's room, and she was on the phone.

She held her finger up to tell me to hold on when she saw me.

"Hey, can I call you back later? I have something I need to do." She said into the phone.

She hung up and looked at me. "What do you need?" she asked.

"Well, I have something I need to tell you." I sat down on the bed beside her.

"Okay, shoot."

"Well, Kelsey and I went to the beach today…"

"And?"  
"…we saw Quil there…"

"Okay, go on."

"…I went to apologize…"

She waited for me to say more.

"…and he accepted my apology…"

She still waited.

"…and he took me to the woods…"

I could see her face tighten.

"…and we… uh, we…"

Her face tightened even more.

"…and – and we…we… kissed."

I got ready for the explosion.

"Claire!" she glared at me. "How could you?! You are the worst sister ever! I hate you! And why would he want out go out with you?!"

"It's complicated…" I whispered.

"There's nothing complicated about it! You _backstabbed _me! You're my sister! You shouldn't do that!"

"Look, I'm sorry! But I love him, Natalie, and he loves me! I know I'm too young for him, but it will work out. And if you're wondering how it could possibly work out, I can't tell you! I'm sorry."

"But you knew how I felt about him, and yet you still go for him!"

"What am I supposed to do?! Ignore my feelings while you get him?! That's not fair!"

"What you're doing isn't fair, either!"

"I'm sorry, Natalie. But he loves _me_. Sure, he loves you, too, but not like that. I'm sorry. But you can't control his feelings. He has told me he doesn't like you like that. I'm not trying to be mean."

"Oh yeah? If this is how you are when you're not trying to be mean, I'd hate to see you when you are being mean!"

"You know I'm not mean! And I'm not being mean now!"

"Yes you are!"

"Oh yeah? Well, I hope this hurts you real bad!" I immediately wanted to take those words back as soon as I said them. I saw her face fall. "I didn't mean that like it came out."

I saw her surrender. "It's…okay, Claire…you can save it. I'm…okay…"

I knew she was lying. I could see the tears she was trying to hide. "Are you sure?"

"Y-yeah…" her voice broke.

"Well, you could call Jason McGowan, you know, the guy you said you liked?" I suggested.

"Yeah."

"Look, I'm really sorry."

"Don't be. I'll get over it."

"Are you sure?" I asked again.

"Y-yeah." She smiled weakly at me. "Go ahead."

I walked out of the room unsure.

I started dinner when my mother walked in.

She gave me a hug and patted my head. "Hey, you." She said. "How was your day?"

"Where's Dad?" I asked. I got out the carrots and started chopping them.

"He's still at the office," she looked at me carefully. "You didn't answer my question. How was your day?"

I hated it. Even though she was never home, my mom always knew what was going on.

"Well, Quil and I had a… rough spot…" I answered hesitantly.

"Oh?" she stopped opening the container of marinating chicken she had in her hands. "Did you work it out?"

I smiled to myself. "Yeah. We did."

She looked at me curiously. "Oh? What happened?"

"Um… well…" I decided there was no way I could explain it to her. "I apologized for what I did." I lied.

"What did you do?"

I had to lie again. "Oh, you know, the usual stupid stuff friends get mad at each other for."

"Like stealing lip gloss?" she teased.

"Yeah. I… just stupid stuff."

"Okay."

I changed the subject. "So, how was your day?"

"It was good. Stressful. But good."

"When's dad coming home?"

"I don't know. Probably about ten."

I looked at the clock. It was eight thirty. "You got home early."

"Yeah. I know. Usually I get home at nine thirty. But I decided to take a break from work, and so is Dad. We're off for two weeks, so we decided to take you to Florida. Quil can come, too." She beamed.

"Really? That's great, Mom! You and Dad are never off from work, and I've always wanted to go to California! And it'll be great to have Quil along."


	7. Beach Party

Beach Party

Beach Party

The next morning, I called Quil.

"Hey, Claire." He answered.

"Hey. Guess what?"

"What?"

"Guess."

He laughed. "You didn't even give me a hint."

"So? Guess,"

"I don't know."

"Okay. My mom and dad are taking off from work for two weeks, so they're taking Natalie and me to Florida! And…my mom said you could come with us."

"Really? Sure, I'll go. It sounds like fun. Do you want to come to the beach today? Everyone's coming."

"Okay. I really had fun last time."

"Hey, Jenny." I greeted her when we got to the beach. "How's Jacob been?"

Her face fell as soon as I spoke his name.

"He's been… not okay. He's always depressed. I… don't know what to do." She looked over at Jacob, who was sitting about a hundred yards away from everyone, his knees pressed up against his body, his arms wrapped around them.

She looked at me again. "I've tried talking to him, but it doesn't work." she said. "I don't know what to do."

I got up and walked to where Jacob was. I sat down beside him.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He didn't look up. "No."

"Jenny's worried about you." I said, hoping it would somehow make him feel better.

"Hmm."

"Jacob, it's okay. It's not like Bella doesn't care about you. She calls you. You have Jenny now, and you're neglecting her."

He looked up at me. "You don't know how it is. I don't even know if she's okay anymore… She could get hurt."

"Jacob. She's not human anymore. She's a vampire. She's indestructible, and she can handle herself. She's okay." I patted him on the shoulder.

He shrugged my arm off. "How do you know?" He got up and walked even further away from everyone.

I just shook my head and walked over to Quil.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey. Are you okay? You look worried." He sounded concerned.

"I am, but Jacob's not." I pointed to the figure that was getting further and further away. "I tried talking to him for Jenny, but he just got mad. Could you talk to him?"

"Yeah." I watched as Quil ran after Jacob.

I went to Emily.

"Hey, Em. You wanna swim?" I asked her.

"Sure!" she replied, already running to the water.

I ran after her, looking over my shoulder at Quil and Jacob every once in a while.

We raced like we did the last time we had a beach party. I lost by a large margin.

"What's wrong, Claire?" she asked me.

I guess I'm not good at hiding my feelings.

"Nothing." I looked away at Quil and Jacob again for the umpteenth time.

"They're fine. Stop worrying."

She knew me too well.

She laughed quietly. "Come on," She gestured for me to follow after her.

We swam far away from the shore where nobody would be able to see us. We snuck closer to the shore, still hidden. We hid behind a large boulder and listened to Quil and Jacob's conversation.

"Jacob, she's okay. How many times do I have to tell you that? Sure, she's with _them_, but I'm pretty sure they take good care of her. And if they don't, she's a vampire now, so she can take care of herself." I heard Quil say. I couldn't see them behind the rock.

"I don't care, Quil. I'm still worried. And it's not like you know how I feel. You have Claire right beside you. You couldn't know how I felt unless you went through exactly what I did." Jacob snapped. I flinched when he mentioned me.

"But I was with you through everything, Jacob. I heard your thoughts when we morphed."

"You weren't a werewolf the whole time."

"That doesn't matter. I'm your best friend."

"When I was a wolf and you weren't, you didn't know because I wasn't around you."

"Whatever, Jacob. I guess you don't care about Jenny. Move on."

I heard Quil's footsteps in the sand as he walked away.

Emily nudged me. "Come on. We'd better go back before they think they lost us." Her face was full of worry, and I knew mine was too.

We swam back to the shore in uncomfortable silence.

When we got out of the water, I grabbed Emily's elbow and stopped her.

"What do you think will happen?" I asked her.

"I don't know." She started to walk away, so I let go of her.

I was confused. Nothing really made sense at all anymore.

For one, I was going out with my best friend, who was twenty-something and a werewolf, for two, Jacob was depressed and trying hold on to his love, who was a vampire and lived in Denali, _and_ he was upsetting his other love who he'd imprinted on, and three, I was going to Florida in two days. What was going on?

I didn't know.

I walked over to Quil. "How'd it go?" I asked him.

"You should know. It was so obvious that you and Emily were eavesdropping." He smiled humorlessly.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was just worried about you two." I hoped he wasn't mad.

"It's okay. I know. I'm not mad." He smiled for real this time.

"So… do you think he'll be okay?"

"I honestly don't know, Claire. I don't know about him anymore. He's not thinking of Jenny at all. That's so strange. He imprinted."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't know that much about imprinting. I just learned about it."

He chuckled. I didn't know how he could be so calm when his best friend was so depressed. Of course, he could be good at hiding his feelings…

"How are you so calm?" I asked.

"Trust me, I'm not."

"I object to that. You're too calm."

He smiled and pulled me in for a hug and kissed me on the lips.

I smiled when he let me go.

"Of course, I don't object to that." I said.

**End Note: Review! Thanks for the reviews I've gotten! I've tried to put more description in my story, and if I haven't put enough in, please tell me. : You'll have to wait until July 5****th**** for the next chapter because I'm going on vacation. But you can still review! :**


	8. Florida

Florida

Florida

"Are you okay?" Quil said from the seat beside me. He put his hand on mine.

I looked over at Natalie, who was in the seat across the aisle. She grimaced as she watched our every move. I decided to look out the window of the plane. I already felt guilty enough; I didn't need to see her face.

The pilot's voice crackled over the intercom. "We're about to land in sunny Orlando, Florida in ten minutes. It is ninety-two degrees outside. Thank you for flying Southwest Airlines."

Quil squeezed my hand.

I looked at him, nodding my head toward Natalie, desperate to get him to stop acting like we were a couple in front of her, even though we were.

I hated to look at my sister's face nowadays. All the pain and agony was laid out to see, plain as day, as if she was trying to torcher me. I wouldn't doubt that she was.

"Yeah. I'm…okay." I finally answered.

I looked at my parents, who were sitting across from us, two aisles away. Luckily, they couldn't see Quil and me unless they turned around. I didn't want to tell them that we were going out; I knew they wouldn't be happy about the fact that I was dating a man in his twenties.

I felt the bump as the plane touched the runway.

"Here we are," I said.

"Yep." He got up when the plane stopped and I got up with him.

When we all got off the plane, we went to get our suitcases. When we were done, we stopped to eat lunch. Then we rented a car and we drove to a hotel.

We got a room for my family, and Quil decided to get a room of his own.

I brought my suitcase into the room I would have to share with Natalie. The hotel room our parents got had a bathroom, a room with two twin beds – which was mine and Natalie's – a tiny kitchen with a mini-fridge, a sink, and a microwave, and a room with one bed for my parents.

I dreaded sharing a room with Natalie.

As I put my suitcase on the floor beside my bed, I tried not to look at her face, hoping and praying that she wouldn't say anything to me.

"Claire?" she asked quietly.

I hid my face behind the bed, pretending like I was still putting the suitcase where I wanted it to go.

"Um, yeah?" I replied.

She walked over to me.

_Oh, crap! _I thought.

I slowly turned my head so that I could look up at her. I knew the guilt was plain on my face.

"Maybe we need to… talk." she said. She bit her lip.

"Uh, about… what?" I asked. I bit my lip, too.

"You know what it's about." She held her hand out for me to grab. I held on to it, and she pulled me up. I sat beside her on the edge of my bed.

She looked me in the eye. "Look, Claire. I'm not going to tell you that it won't hurt my feelings, 'cause then I'd be lying. But I will tell you that it's okay if you're with Quil. I'm okay with it."

I looked at the door, hoping that our parents couldn't hear us. The door was open.

"Don't talk too loud. Dad and Mom can't know that I'm dating Quil." I whispered.

She nodded. "I'm also telling you that if you don't want him, send him to me." she whispered back.

"I don't think that's possible." I mumbled.

"What?"

I looked away. "I didn't say anything."

She turned my head to face hers. "Claire, I'm serious. You can have him if you want him, but if you don't, I'll always be open to have you give him to me."

"Yeah, that comforts me a lot." I said sarcastically. "It really made me get over the whole guilty thing." I nodded, still being sarcastic, and got up to walk out of the room. I went to the main door.

"Where are you going, honey?" my mother asked.

I clenched my teeth, holding on to the doorknob. I didn't turn when I replied. "I'm going to see if Quil is settled into his room okay."

"Okay."

I turned the knob, opened the door – slamming it – and went to the room next to mine.

I knocked on the door. "Quil,"

He was at the door in an instant. "What's wrong?" He led me into the room, holding an arm around me.

"Natalie. She keeps making me feel guilty. She says it's okay for me and you to be together, but she also says that if I don't want you, she'll take you. I think she's doing it purposely, but she acts like she's not. How is that supposed to make me feel better? Maybe…maybe we shouldn't be together. I'm starting to regret it." Before he could protest, I added, "I'm not saying you need to go away. I'm just saying that maybe I should wait until I'm your age for us to be together."

"Are you…breaking up with me?" He looked hurt.

I tried as hard as I could not to cave in. "I don't want to, but maybe it's best."

"Whatever you want." He still looked hurt.

"Aw, Quil! Don't look at me like that! You're making me change my mind."

"Am I?"

"Yes! Stop that!"

I could see that he was trying not to look so devastated, but he wasn't succeeding.

I sighed. "Okay, Quil. I'm not breaking up with you. I don't want to. I guess I can find out some way to make Natalie feel better."

"Doesn't she like Jason Adams?" he asked, suddenly thoughtful.

"Yeah! She does. I know her best friend's number. I think she knows his number." I reached in my pocket for my cell-phone. I scrolled down the contacts, and when I found Natalie's friend's number, I hit send.

"Hello?" Jessica answered on the first ring.

"Hey, Jessica. It's Claire. I know it's weird that I'm calling you, but I need a favor. Could you give me Jason Adams's number? It's for my sister, but you can't tell her." I asked, hoping she would agree.

"Yeah. That's fine." She gave me the number, and I thanked her fifty-billion times. Then I hung up, and dialed the number Jessica had given me.

"Hello?" I heard Jason answer.

"Hey, Jason. This is Claire. You don't know me, but I'm Natalie Young's little sister." I hoped he wouldn't hang up.

He didn't. "Natalie? She's hot. Yeah, what can I do for you?"

I thanked God. So he liked her. "Would you like to go on a date with her in, oh, two weeks? On June twenty-fifth?"

"Yeah! Totally! Should I pick her up?"

"Yeah, at seven. Take her wherever you think is good. But you can't tell her. I'll tell her the day before. It's a surprise, okay?"

"Okay. Thanks, Claire." He hung up.

I shut my phone, smiling at Quil.

"He said yes, didn't he?" Quil asked, smiling back.

"Yup." I beamed.

He pulled me in for a hug. Our lips met. I forgot to breathe. His hands moved from my waist to my hair, and his fingers wound through my hair.

I had my hands on both sides of his face.

He let me go.

"Why'd you let me go?" I asked breathlessly.

He chuckled. "Because if I didn't, you'd be dead. You need to teach yourself how to breathe when you kiss me."

I rolled my eyes. "I've got to go back to my room now. My mom's gonna wonder what happened to me." I got up and looked in the mirror to see if I needed to smooth my hair. I smoothed it, and went back to my room.

My mom greeted me when I walked in the door. "How's Quil getting settled in?"

"Good. He's okay. Great, even. He's settled in nicely." I smiled.

I walked to Natalie's and my room.

"Hey," I said to her when I walked in.

She was lying across her bed. "What?"

I sat beside her. "Guess."

"You hate me."

I nudged her. "No. I called Jason Adams."

She didn't even budge at the sound of his name. "And you embarrassed me, didn't you?"

"No! I set up a date for you guys when we get back, and…he likes you. He agreed." I smiled at her.

She hopped up. "Really? You did? I love you!" She hugged me.

I was glad. She actually looked happy.

**End Note: Okay, okay. I know you guys must hate me for not posting another chapter for so long, and I'm sorry, but I was in Idaho (don't make fun of the state's name) seeing my Aunt and Uncle and Grandma and horse and a whole bunch of other people and animals. So, I'll be nice. I'm working on my next chapter as fast as I possibly can. So it won't be long. Review! :D**


	9. Attack

Attack

Attack

I woke up the next morning feeling better. The guilty feeling had gone away, and happiness was filling it.

I stretched and got up. I went to the bathroom to get washed up and I got dressed. I put my pajamas on my bed and met my parents and Natalie and Quil in the lobby. We went to the dining room to get some breakfast.

While we were eating, I saw Natalie smile at me. She was really happy now.

"So, Claire, Natalie. Where do you wan to go today? Your mom and I were thinking of going to the museum. Doesn't that sound fun?" My dad said.

We exchanged glances. "Um, actually, Dad, Claire and I were thinking of walking around town and go to the stores." Natalie said.

He shook his head. "Not by yourselves."

"Well, Quil could take us, can't you, Quil?" I said, looking at Quil.

"Yeah, I could take you guys," he replied.

I smiled at him.

"See, dad? It'll be okay with Quil," Natalie insisted.

"Well, okay, you can go." My dad reluctantly agreed. "But you'll really regret not learning about history," he added, thinking we would give in.

"I think we'll be okay," Natalie said as we slid out of our seats and rushed for the door, grabbing our purses from our seats, and pulling Quil behind us.

Once we got to the sidewalk, we slowed down.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked Natalie.

"Everywhere!" she breathed.

We walked into a store, and we found some cute clothes there. We bought the ones we liked the most, and we moved on to the next store.

When we were nearly finished, the sun was setting on the horizon.

"We should get back soon," I said.

"Just one more store." Natalie insisted. "Look, there's a store that has really cute clothes for girls" she looked at Quil, "and guys, and it's only five blocks away."

I sighed. "Okay." We started walking.

When we were almost to the store, I found a bench and sat down.

Natalie stared me down. "Claire! What are you doing? Come on!"

I yawned. "No, I'll wait for you here. I'm tired."

Quil yawned too, and sat down beside me. "Yeah, me too. I don't think I can shop anymore."

Natalie rolled her eyes, obviously thinking it was some scheme for us to be alone. But I was seriously tired, and I knew Quil was too.

"Whatever," she said, and walked into the store.

Once she was gone, Quil suddenly tensed.

"What?" I asked suspiciously.

"Vampire." He replied. "Look. Over there." He pointed to a pale man. The man was gorgeous.

"Will he hurt us?" I asked. I was suddenly terrified of this beautiful monster.

"He's coming towards us, so does that tell you anything?" Quil pulled me up, and we began walking briskly through the streets. I could tell this was the way back to the hotel.

"What about Natalie?" I looked back to see if the vampire was still following us. He was. I felt like screaming stalker at him, but I kept my mouth shut. I was so grateful for Quil. If I was being stalked by a vampire in Miami by myself, I'd be dead – literally. That vampire would have killed me in two seconds.

"Forget about Natalie. She'll be okay. She's safer there, anyway, and I can't watch out for the both of you right now." All of his concentration was on protecting me.

Ahead, I saw another too beautiful person.

"Uh, Quil?" I choked. "There's…another one."

He turned his head ever so slightly, not taking his attention off the first vampire. "Great."

I could also see that they were herding us. Where? I looked on my left, and saw an alley. CRAP! I hoped Quil was strong enough to fight two vampires.

"They're…also…herding…us into…an…an…alley…" I struggled to get the words out. I said them in a voice that was foreign to me.

Quil cussed.

We were getting ever closer to the alley. I saw both of the vampires hold their nose as if they smelled something horrible.

We were at the top of the alley and were beginning to enter it.

I took a peek at the alley, and I could see that it had no other way to get out except the way to come in.

We were halfway in the alley now.

Quil hit the back wall.

"Stand back." he said to me.

His body started shaking all over.

I watched as he transformed into a huge wolf. It alarmed me. This was only the second time I saw him like this.

The second vampire lunged towards me, but Quil was there. I heard the vampire scream as Quil tore off its arm.

The other vampire came at me. Quil ripped his arm off too.

They both came at me this time. Quil caught them both by the head in his mouth. He ripped and tore at both of them until all that was left of them were bits and pieces.

Quil morphed back.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a female vampire run down the street. I could tell that she had been watching, because she was running from the entryway of the alley.

She looked back, and her blood-red eyes caught my eyes. I could see the fire in them.

Quil poked me.

"Come on, Claire. We've gotta pick up all this vampire debris." He pulled on my arm. "What are you looking at?"

I shook my head. "Um…nothing." I turned to face him. "Thank you for saving my life." I took his hand. "There are advantages to having a werewolf as a boyfriend." I put on a smile, hoping he couldn't see through it.

He smiled back, and dropped my hand. "Come on. Let's pick this up."

We started picking up all the debris and we put it in a trash can.

We walked back to the store.

Natalie met us outside.

She stomped her foot. "Where'd you guys go?! You left me! You scared me! Wait 'til I tell Dad and Mom!"

"No, that's not necessary." Quil said. "We…took a walk. We thought you'd take longer."

"Yeah, and you can't tell Mom and Dad that we're dating. Please? I could always tell Jason that you don't like him." I said.

"Fine." She still looked unhappy about us leaving her.

We left for the hotel.

**End Note: Please review! Another chapter is coming soon! :D**


	10. Leaving

Leaving

Leaving

When we got back to the hotel, Quil went to his room and Natalie and I went to our room.

We got ready for bed, but we weren't tired.

I turned over in my bed for what seemed like the millionth time.

"Claire?" I heard Natalie whisper.

I turned back over to face her bed.

"What?" I asked quietly.

"Are you tired?"

"No."

She spoke after a long time. "Can I ask you something?" She sounded reluctant.

I almost thought of pretending that I fell asleep, but I knew she'd see through it. "Um, sure."

She didn't answer for a while, and I thought she fell asleep.

"What?" I asked.

"Have you…kissed him?" she asked quietly.

"Um." I couldn't answer.

"Uh, it's okay. I'll stay out of your business." She turned on her other side so she was facing the wall.

"Do you really want to know?" I asked.

"No, you don't have to answer."

I could tell she really wanted to know, but I didn't know why. It would just hurt her.

"Um, I haven't kissed him yet." I lied.

She turned back over to face me. "You're lying." She said. "You have kissed him, haven't you?"

I knew I couldn't lie now. "Okay." I sighed. "Yes, I have kissed him. Twice. Only twice."

I heard her sigh. "I figured that would be your answer. I just tried not to believe it." She turned to face the wall again.

At that moment, it all fell in place.

I hadn't made her feel any better.

I only covered up the damage I'd done to her. It was like sewing a patch into a hole in a pair of jeans. The hole would always be there. I couldn't patch up her hole.

"You love him." I said. It wasn't a question.

She didn't answer.

"I'm a horrible sister. I can't cover your hole up with Jason." I said.

I realized what I needed to do.

I got out of bed and started walking to the door.

She sat up and looked at me.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"What I should've done before." I ignored the confused look on her face and I tiptoed quietly to the door.

When I went to Quil's door, I knocked quietly. I didn't know if it would wake him when he was snoring so loudly, but I heard the snoring subside and the sound of footsteps coming towards the door.

He opened it, confused.

He chuckled when he saw me. "And you said _I_ woke up early,"

I let myself in. "I need to talk to you."

He closed the door and followed me.

I sat down on the couch, and he sat down beside me.

I looked him in the eye. "Look, Quil. When I called Jason, it was the wrong thing to do. In fact, going out with you was the wrong thing to do. I love you, Quil. I really do. But, you see, Natalie loves you too. I don't know if she does as much as I do, but I think she should be with you rather than me. Maybe it wasn't wrong for us to be together in other circumstances, but this is an issue that I can't just go on and ignore. I can't patch up her holes with Jason. She needs you. She wants you. And I know you've imprinted on me, and I know you can't imprint on her, but maybe you should…let me go. And I should let you go, too." I took his hand. "I can't be with you anymore, Quil. It doesn't matter anymore how much I love you." Tears were coming to my eyes now.

He pulled me in for a hug. "I'm sorry, Claire. It doesn't have to be like this. I love you. Only you. Not Natalie. I can't and I won't love her. Don't you understand? I love you, Claire. Don't do this."

"I have to." I whispered.

"No." he whispered back. "I won't let you. I won't let you go. I did once, and I don't want to do it again. I love you."

I gently pushed him away. "Goodnight, Quil."

He took my hand. "No, Claire."

"This isn't making it any better."

"Claire. It will be okay. You can be with me. She'll be okay."

"I know my sister better. And I know for a fact that she's not okay. I love you, Quil, but I can't keep having the guilt gnaw at me like this." I pulled my hand away, and for a moment I thought of going back to him.

I walked to the door.

I found Natalie when I opened it.

She looked into my eyes.

"Claire…"

I stared at her.

"No…Don't worry about me. I've caused you way too much trouble, and you two are meant to be together. This is all my fault. I've caused all the guiltiness, all the pain, the stress…and I'm tired of it, Claire. He's not mine. He's yours. I get Jason. I'm okay with that. You love each other. I can't take that away from you." She sighed. "I just thought that I needed to say that much. I'm sorry."

I looked at her. "Natalie…"

She stopped me from saying any more. "No, Claire."

She hugged me.

When she pulled away, she took my hand and led me to Quil.

She smiled at him. "I'm backing down." She said.

She made me sit down beside him, and he hugged me.

"I love you." He whispered.

I looked at Natalie, to see any signs of sadness on her face. There was none.

"I love you too." I said to Quil.


	11. Bump In The Night

Bump In The Night

Bump In The Night

Natalie and I walked back to our room in silence.

I spoke up. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" I whispered.

She looked at me and smiled. "Of course I am." She whispered back. "You don't need to ask – I really am okay. I made this decision. I'm not backing out on it."

I smiled back at her.

We opened the door ever so quietly, and tiptoed to our room.

As I got in my bed, I started to feel tired. I closed my eyes and succumbed.

"Claire, wake up, you sleepyhead," Quil's voice broke through my fog.

I giggled. "Now you're the one who wakes up early again,"

He chuckled. "It's not early. It's noon."

I immediately sat up and looked at the clock on the bedside table. It read noon. I looked at him again and put my hand on my head.

"How in the…?" I asked.

"Your parents decided that you and Natalie had a pretty hard day yesterday, so they went to see the sights. Natalie woke up and went with them. I told them I'd stay here and keep you out of trouble." He smiled when he said the last sentence.

I laughed and got out of the bed. "So, what do you want to do today?" I asked.

"I don't know." He said. "After all, you're _so _tired, according to your parents,"

I smiled. "Why don't I get dressed and we can go downstairs to eat lunch? And then, we could go to the beach."

He got up. "Okay." He left the room so I could get changed.

We sat down at a table and waited to be dined on.

I sighed. I _was_ tired.

"What's wrong?" Quil asked.

"I'm just kind of…sleepy." I yawned.

"Are you sure you want to go to the beach?" he asked.

"Mmm, yeah. And I wanted to go to the beach while I was here, anyway."

"You still have a week and a half to go. You can go back upstairs and sleep,"

This was annoying me now. "Quil, seriously. I'm okay. Don't worry. I'll wake up when I eat."

He noticed that I was getting irritated, so he changed the subject.

"So, I guess you don't have to worry about Natalie anymore," he said.

I frowned. "I don't really want to talk about that."

"Sorry." He tried to find something to talk about. "So what do you want to do when we get home?"

"I don't know. We could have another beach party, or barbecue…Either way, it doesn't matter," I shrugged.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"I don't know. I guess I'm just tired." I yawned again.

"Are you positive you want to go to the beach? You still have time to go any other day,"

This was really starting to get on my nerves.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Really. I am fine." I tried to make that clear.

The waiter walked up to the table.

"What can I get for you today?" he asked.

We both ordered, and were quiet when he went away.

Quil spoke. "You seem…annoyed."

I smiled humorlessly. "I am."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I want to go home."

He sighed. "Okay. But don't bite my head off." He smiled.

I didn't change my expression.

When we ate, neither of us spoke.

I wasn't sure exactly what was bothering me, but I knew for a fact that I wasn't mad at Quil – I was mad at myself.

I was glad we didn't talk – I needed to think.

Maybe I was mad at myself for trying to help Natalie.

That _was _it.

I had gotten to the core of my grumpiness. I was mad at myself because of what I did to Natalie. Now she seemed so…okay. I knew that I should forget about it, but I couldn't forgive myself, even if Natalie had forgiven me.

Maybe the beach would make me feel better.

But I didn't want to feel better. Well, maybe I did, in some ways – I didn't want to be mean to anyone except myself. I especially didn't want to be mean to Quil or Natalie. But, other than that, I wanted to put myself through what I believed I deserved.

Maybe I could be nice to everyone and be mean to myself. I could have my cake and eat it too. I knew that wasn't a great phrase to use, but I thought it was for me.

I knew that I would never do anything like I did again to Natalie. I didn't want to. I already hated myself. I didn't want to hurt her.

"Claire?" Quil waved his hand in front of my eyes. "Wake up!"

I shook my head. "Huh?"

He chuckled. "You spacing out?"

"Yeah." I smiled at him.

"Aren't you gonna finish your food?" He asked, eyeing the plate.

"Oh. Um. No. You want it?" I asked.

"Okay," He took the plate and finished it off quickly.

We paid and left to get our swimsuits and we walked to the beach. It wasn't too far away.

"Okay." Quil said. "Will you tell me what's really bugging you?"

"I'm mad at myself." I replied. I knew he'd laugh, but he didn't. He just looked confused.

"Um, why?" he asked.

"I hurt Natalie."

He looked confused again. "You fixed that. At least, I thought so. Is Natalie okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She forgave me for trying to fix the problem, but I can't forgive myself." I frowned.

He didn't reply for a while. "You shouldn't dwell on it. It's okay, and she's not mad at you. So you don't need to be angry with yourself."

"Yes, I do." I argued.

He held his hand up. "Okay, do what you want. But it's not good for you. And Natalie is not mad at you."

I said nothing more on the way to the beach.

"So, when are you gonna forgive yourself? 'Cause then we could make plans for a barbecue or a beach party back home," He smiled as we set down our towels on the warm sand.

I rolled my eyes and frowned. "How am I supposed to know?" I stomped off to the water.

I knew I was being mean, and I didn't want to be mean to Quil. I had promised myself that. I was breaking that promise.

I turned around and walked back to him.

"I'm sorry," I said, hoping I hadn't hurt his feelings or anything.

He looked understanding. "It's okay, Claire. I know you're kinda p-o-ed at yourself right now, and you can't help but take it out on everyone else. It's okay."

I sat down on my towel. "Great. There's one more thing to be mad at myself for."

He sat down on his towel beside me. "You have no reason to be mad at yourself. You did nothing wrong. You were just trying to help."

"I know, but…" My voice trailed off.

"But what?"

I sighed. "I don't know." I shook my head. "Maybe…maybe you're right."

"I am, and admit it. You know I'm right." He smiled warmly.

I smiled back, glad to have that burden off of my shoulders. I looked around the beach, and my eyes locked on Natalie. I looked at who she was with, and it was my parents.

"Oh, crap." I said. "Hide me." I sat behind Quil, and he was so big, I knew they would have no chance of seeing me. Unless they saw him and decided to come and see him…

I looked, and they were coming towards us. I laid down and acted like I was tanning.

"Quil?" My mother asked. She shielded her eyes from the sun with her hand. "Is that you?"

"Yeah, and Claire's tanning right here." He pointed to me.

"Still lounging around?" She asked me.

"Yeah, and I figured that while I'm here, I might want to get tanner. We don't get much sun in La Push, so I figured now is my chance to soak it up." I replied.

She smiled. "Well, have fun." She walked away – back to Natalie and my dad.

Natalie walked over. "They were getting boring," she said, pointing to our parents.

"Ah." I said. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, even though I knew I had nothing to worry about. I was just used to the feeling from past experiences (ahem).

"So…what are you two planning on doing today?" She was trying to make conversation.

"I don't know. We just got here, so I guess this is what we're doing." I replied. She was starting to irritate me.

"What about this weather? It's really beautiful. It's sure not like this in La Push."

I sat up on my towel. This was getting really annoying.

"Look, Natalie." I said. "I don't want to be mad at you, but this isn't a good day, and I'm still uncomfortable with the three of us. So can you please just leave me alone? I'm not trying to be mean, and if I am, I'm sorry. But you don't need to make conversation. I'm not talkative today. Give me time."

Quil and Natalie looked at me with big eyes.

Natalie stood up. "Okay. I'll just go sit by myself." She walked away.

"That wasn't very nice," Quil said to me.

"I just want to be left alone." I plugged my ears with my fingers and blocked everything out.

As I crawled in bed that night, I was glad that I had fallen asleep on the beach and had some alone time.

I fell asleep quickly and dreamt sweet dreams of Quil and I on the beach, the waves crashing on the rocks, the seagulls calling above us. We were the only ones on the beach. We walked hand in hand…

I woke up suddenly. Was that a thump I heard?

I looked over at Natalie. She was asleep.

I tiptoed to my parents' room. They were asleep also.

I crawled back in my bed and closed my eyes.

_Thump. _I knew I heard the quiet noise this time.

I got up and looked around.

_Thump._

I looked at the window.

_Thump._

I walked slowly to the window.

_Thump._

_Thump._

I slowly opened the curtain…

What I saw was the last thing I wanted to see.

**End Note: Sorry, I've been busy so I haven't been able to post a chapter for a while. Just in case you were waiting. Please review! I will try to post another chapter as soon as I can! :D**


	12. Vampire vs Werewolf

Vampire vs

Vampire vs. Werewolf

I saw the pair of glowing blood-red eyes. They cut into me like a thousand knives.

The thing that hurt me most was that I recognized this vampire. It was the one who had run away when Quil killed off the two other vampires that I guessed she was with.

I closed the curtain, and, trying not to scream because it would wake everyone, I walked to my bed and hyperventilated for a second or two.

This vampire was out to get _me_. I knew this for a fact.

I got up when I was done freaking out, and I went across the hall to Quil's room. I knocked on the door.

I heard his snoring stop, and I heard the footsteps.

I was getting impatient. What if the vampire had gotten in already and wanted a snack so she would suck Natalie and my parents' blood?

He opened the door. "There you go again, waking me up in the middle of night," he smiled. "What do you need?"

"Quil. Come with me." I said quickly. I led him to my room.

"Why?" he was confused.

"Because there's a vampire trying to come in."

He looked at me in horror.

"I didn't tell you this, and I'm sorry, but when you were trying to get me to clean up the pieces of vampire in the alley, I saw a female vampire run away. I figured she was with them, and she looked at me so horribly, and I think she's mad now, so I think she wants to get me. That's why you had to ask me so many times to help you clean up the vampire bits. I was distracted." I continued. I was out of breath.

He led me this time to my room.

I opened the curtain, and, sure enough, the vampire was there, waiting for me to get curious and look again. She didn't look surprised to see Quil.

He pushed me back, and he opened the window silently, so he wouldn't wake anyone.

Natalie kept up her snoring. She wouldn't wake up if there was a loud noise, I was sure.

Quil spoke to the abnormally beautiful creature.

"If you want to fight, you have to be quiet." He said.

The vampire looked at me with piercing eyes.

She tried to come in, but he wouldn't let her.

When she tried to sneak past him, he caught her.

She tried once more, and she squeezed past him. When she tried to get me, he was there in an instant.

"I don't think so." he whispered. "You can't get her."

He stared shaking all over, and I moved back a bit.

I watched as he changed from human to wolf.

He moved silently.

I was glad he was so big; I didn't think she'd be able to get past him.

"Think you'll get her?" he asked.

The vampire suddenly spoke. "I _will _get her."

He chuckled silently. "Right. And pigs can fly."

She smiled humorlessly.

She tried to get past him again, unsuccessfully.

I watched, about to faint.

Why was I suddenly so accident-prone? Like I had heard Bella _was_? Would I be like her, too? Would I have sadistic vampires after me too?

It looked like I already did.

At least I had a protector, like she had Edward.

Mine was skilled, too.

But every time she tried to get past him, I couldn't help but think of what it would be like if she _did _get past him. Maybe I'd be dead. She'd probably finish him off, too. And Natalie, and my parents…

I shook off the thought.

She wouldn't get past him…would she?

Was Quil really as strong as I thought? I didn't know. But I still had faith in him.

I watched as she continued the pattern: feint and step back, feint and step back…every time it looked like Quil had her, she'd get away and his hands would grab the air.

This was a great time in my life. Just great. Right. But I thought I had every right to be sarcastic right now.

_If _I was going to die, I might as well be sarcastic.

But I wasn't going to die. Not as long as I had Quil, and I wasn't in Florida. I would never come back here again.

My hands shook. My faith was beginning to break, and I closed my eyes.

I opened them suddenly.

"Stop." I whispered.

Both vampire and werewolf stared at me.

The vampire found this an opportunity.

She darted past Quil, and all I could feel was the impact of me hitting the wall, and I blacked out.

Quil's POV

I pulled the vampire off of Claire, and she darted out the window.

I changed back into a human.

I looked down at Claire. Her body was limp.

"Claire?" I whispered.

She didn't answer.

_Oh, God, she's dead. She's dead. Don't let her be dead. No. What will I say to her parents? I'll have no explanation. _I thought.

I brushed my fingertips across her cheek.

I felt for a pulse. None.

The tears started welling in my eyes.

I felt movement under my hand.

Was that a heartbeat?

There it went again.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"Oh, Claire." I whispered.

"Quil…?" she asked weakly.

"I'm here." I held her tight against my chest, and I was pleased to see her smile slightly.

"Where…am I…?"

This was not good.

Claire's POV

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Quil. Where was I? What happened to me? Why did I hurt all over? I didn't know. But the pain…

"Quil…?" I had to force the words out, I was so weak.

"I'm here." I heard him reply. He had pulled me in so I was cradled in his chest.

I smiled, but frowned again.

"Where…am I…?" I asked, again weakly.

I saw him look at me in horror.

"What?"

"You're in the hotel in Miami, and a sadistic vampire just bashed you up against the wall. Do you hurt anywhere?"

It was all coming back to me. "Oh." I said. "It hurts everywhere. It feels like there's a fire burning inside of me…"

Again he looked at me in horror. "Claire, where does it hurt the most?" he asked.

I lifted up my arm. "Right here." I said, pointing to a crescent-shaped cut that was bleeding.

He stood up, and I plopped back down on the ground again.

"No." he said, pacing. "No, no, no."

"What?" I asked, confused.

"She…bit you. But not enough to suck your blood so that you're not totally dead. Well, you will be…"

I stood up slowly. I was starting to regain my strength. "What are you talking about?" I wasn't sure if I wanted to know.

"You're…becoming…a…vampire." He forced the last word out.

**End Note: I know this is a crazy chapter. But this story has to have some excitement in it, right? Anyway, please review! :D**


	13. Changed

Changed

Changed

"Well, is there anything you can do?" I asked, pain leaking through my voice.

"Not really…and if I got a vampire to suck the venom out, it would probably be too late." I could see that he was getting close to slipping off the edge in his mind, and I was close to slipping off of my edge.

"I don't want to be this! I want to be with you. And now I can't!" My voice got louder.

"I'm sorry…" he lowered his head.

And then I slipped off the edge. "I'm dying, aren't I?" I choked. "I'll never be able to see my family or my friends ever, ever, again."

He shook his head slightly. "No."

"And…I won't ever be able to see you, either…"

Again he shook his head slightly. "No. But, maybe we can work this out…" He looked at me. "…but I doubt that would work…"

"But we could work it out. I want to be with you, Quil. We don't have to be enemies. I love you." I pleaded.

He looked at me, his eyes filled with sadness.

I dropped to the ground and blacked out.

I woke up, and it was morning. The pain hurt so bad.

I could hear my parents' footsteps. Natalie was still asleep. The footsteps were getting closer…

As much as the pain hurt, I climbed out the open window and onto the balcony that was only there for decoration. I closed the window quietly and pressed myself against the wall.

I heard my parents open the door and wake Natalie.

"Where's Claire?" My mom's urgent voice.

"I don't know." Natalie's voice was urgent, too.

I peeked in the window, and I could barely see them.

I saw my parents' worried faces. I saw Natalie's face. It was all laid out, there for me to see. It was too hard. Unbearable. I knew that this would most likely be the last time I would ever see them again. I pressed myself against the wall again. I couldn't look anymore.

I sat down and sobbed quietly. But I could barely cry anymore. The tears were coming less and less. I knew that I would soon lose them.

I lay down on the tiny balcony and blacked out again.

My eyes fluttered open, and it was night. I saw Quil sitting beside me.

"How long is the pain going to last?" I choked.

"Only a couple more days." He replied. "I'm doing whatever it takes to keep you away from your parents."

I blacked out again.

This time, when I woke up, I didn't hurt anymore. I found a note beside me. It read:

Claire,

When you read this I'm probably on the way home with your parents. I'm sorry things turned out this way. Don't try to come after me, and don't try to follow me. We can't be together anymore, and I'm sorry for that. I hope the best for you. I miss you. I love you.

Quil

I cried one tear, and then nothing more came out. I would never cry a tear again.

I didn't care anymore. I didn't care what he said. I loved him, and I needed to go after him. I didn't care that I felt the tiniest bit of burning hate when I thought of him. I could overpower that. I loved him. I didn't care that we were supposed to be enemies. I just didn't care.

But the one and the only thing I still cared about anymore was him.

I opened the window and saw that nobody was occupying the room. I shut the window behind me and dashed out the door. I felt faster, stronger.

I smelled blood, and I wanted it, but I ignored it. I was thirsty for blood. But I only had one goal now.

I ran out of the hotel, and I kept running. I ran through the forests, the countryside, and kept going. I didn't stop (I did stop once for deer. I was so thirsty, and I felt guilty drinking the poor animal's blood).

I ran through the mountains, and I knew it when I was getting close to home.

But I knew it when I smelled the werewolves. They never smelled that bad before.

I got stopped by Embry and Sam.

They looked at me in confusion.

They both morphed back into humans.

"Claire?" Sam asked.

"Y-yes." I said.

"Why are you here?"

"I think it's obvious enough." I ran past them.

I could hear them following me, in their wolf form again.

I stopped, and they stopped with me.

"What?" I asked.

They morphed back again.

Embry lowered his head. "He's…not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?!" I demanded.

Sam's eyes were filled with sympathy. "He left as soon as he got back. We don't know where he's at. But we do know that he's not coming back."

The forest started spinning. "W-what?" I choked.

"He's never coming back. He ran away."

The news hit me hard. "I'll find him."

"I doubt he wants to be found." Sam said.

"Where's Emily?" I asked.

"If you saw her, you'd only want to suck her blood." Embry murmured.

I glared at him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"No, I won't suck her blood! She's my aunt, and I need to see her." I walked away.

Sam stopped me. "Claire, there's nothing you can do. You're a vampire, and he's a werewolf. It would never work."

I felt the burning hate again, but this time for Sam and Embry.

"Leave me alone, Sam." I walked on.

He walked beside me. "Claire, you need to listen. Do not go after him."

I shook my head. "I'm pretty sure there has been at least one time where vampires and werewolves have gotten along."

"Well…"

I looked him in the eye. "There has been, hasn't there?"

"Well, Seth and Edward were friends, but…"

"But nothing. There's my proof. That's all I need. You will not talk me out of this, no matter how hard you try. I love him, Sam. I thought you'd understand."

"You're going against what Quil wants!" Sam argued.

I stopped walking, and so did he, and I faced him. "Maybe this is what I want. Did you ever think of that?"

I walked again, but this time he didn't follow me.

When I got to Sam and Emily's house, I knocked on the door.

Emily opened it, and she was appalled. "Claire?" she asked.

"Yeah. I need to talk to you. Can I come in?" I stood there, waiting.

"Um, I don't know if this is the best time…" She hesitated.

I sighed. "I won't suck your blood."

"Okay…" She let me in.

"It's about Quil." I said, trying as hard as I could to resist her blood. I was disgusted with myself, but it wasn't my fault that this was what I'd turned out to be.

"I know." She caught a glimpse of my face and said, "Maybe you shouldn't be around me."

"Don't worry. I can resist it…and if anything, you could call Sam, and-" Right as I was about to finish the sentence, Sam walked in.

He sat down.

"You don't trust me, do you?" I asked him.

"You're a newborn."

"I can handle it." I insisted.

"Just keep going, Claire. What about Quil?" Emily said.

"Did he ever tell you where he was running away to?" I asked, hoping, praying that she had the answer I wanted.

"Well, yes, and no." she replied. It was better than nothing. "He did say something about how Hollywood was so nice…but I don't know. I'm just guessing that he might be there."

"Hollywood. Okay." I said goodbye, and I ran as fast as I could. I ran down the western coast, and within twenty-four hours or more, I was in Hollywood.

I looked at a hotel and went to the desk to ask for Quil. The first ten hotels said no.

I went to the eleventh and asked.

"Yes." The clerk replied. He was breathless by my beauty (courtesy of being a vampire).

"What room?"

"Um," he looked it up again. "Room 905."

"Thanks."

I went up to the floor the room was on, and I looked for room 905. I found it and hesitated before I knocked on the door.

He opened the door.


	14. The End

The End

The End

"Um, hi." I said. I was nervous.

"Hi." He said, taken back by my coming for him.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"What for? This" He pointed to me, "isn't your fault."

"I'm sorry I came after you. I…I shouldn't have. But…I can't live without you, Quil. I don't care about all the vampires-and-werewolves-are-enemies crap. I love you, no matter what you are, and no matter what I am." I breathed. The words ran themselves together.

He couldn't speak. "Claire, I…" He hugged me. "I'm sorry. I love you too, no matter what you are, and no matter what I am, too. I was stupid to leave you. But you smell really bad."

I giggled. "So do you."

"I missed you."

"Me too. We need to go home."

"Why? There's nothing to go back for."

I shook my head. "Yes, there is. Your friends, and Emily. I know I can't go back to my parents, but I still have people to go back to. And I will not suck their blood. Luckily, my mind was set on finding you, so I didn't want the blood. Sure, I stopped for a deer, but…Anyway, now that I have you back, you'll have to keep me from human blood."

He got his suitcase, and we went home.

We ran home together – literally, we ran. He changed into a werewolf, and I carried his suitcase and we ran home.

I had to stop for a deer. I felt bad again. I also felt bad because Quil had to watch.

We finally got home.

"I missed you." I said, and we hugged.

This was so perfect.

"I love you." He said, and kissed me.

"I love you too." I murmured under the kiss.

We would be together, forever.

**End note: So, this was a short chapter. This is the end of this story. I have to think of another story to write about. Review! And thanks for reading my story! I enjoyed the reviews I got. Thanks again! :D**


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